1. Technical Field
This invention relates to sensors and, more particularly, to power monitoring devices.
2. Discussion
A variety of applications exist for sensor devices which can detect characteristics of the electrical signals supplied by conventional electrical outlets. One such application is to detect the quality of the power supplied through the electrical outlet for powering electrical equipment. It is known that optimum performance of certain electrical equipment is conditioned on the reception of clean power, with spikes, sag, swell, harmonic distortion and other factors collectively referred to as power quality characteristics, held within acceptable limits.
Power quality monitors have been used in the past to detect power quality characteristics. However, they are generally bulky devices which are relatively expensive and difficult to install. Therefore, while it would be desirable in many instances to monitor power quality at a multitude of locations within a facility, it is impractical to do so because of cost and manpower limitations of the known power quality monitors.